83rd Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting 2015

The annual tree lighting ceremony is free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

Location

30 Rockefeller PlazaNew York, New York

Visiting Hours

Daily 5:30am-MidnightThrough 8pm on January 6

Broadcast Info

NBCWednesday, December 2, 7–9pm

Tree Lighting Ceremony

The 2015 tree will be lit for the first time on Wednesday, December 2 at Rockefeller Plaza, between West 48th and 51st Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues. Each year tens of thousands crowd the sidewalks for the event and hundreds of millions watch the live broadcast.

Habitat for Humanity (A Gift that Keeps On Giving)

For the ninth consecutive year, the 2015 Christmas Tree will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. Once the holidays have passed and crowds have dispersed, the tree comes down and is milled, treated and made into lumber that is used for home building. Each year, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree continues to be a symbol of hope, and inspired the children’s book, “The Carpenter’s Gift,” written by David Rubel and illustrated by Jim LaMarche in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity.

Tree Lighting History

For over seven decades, the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center and the holiday decorations adorning and surrounding have stood as a holiday beacon for New Yorkers and visitors alike. From the beginning, the Tree was a gathering place and reflection of what was happening in the world around it. Even before the first formal tree went up, workers lined up beneath a Christmas tree on the Rockefeller Plaza construction site to collect their paychecks during the height of the Great Depression. People from around the world came after September 11th to see the Tree decorated in a patriotic red, white and blue. Today, more than half a million people pass by the Tree very day, making Rockefeller Center the epicenter of New York City’s holiday celebrations.

The History of the Rockefeller Center Tree

In December 1931, demolition workers at the Rockefeller Center construction site pooled their money together to buy a Christmas tree. The 20-foot high balsam fir was decorated with handmade garlands by the men’s families. This photo, taken on Christmas Eve, shows the men lined up to receive their wages.

20 feet tall, origin not on record.

Rockefeller Center decided to make the Christmas Tree an annual tradition and held the very first tree lighting ceremony.